Greece entered WW2 at 28th of Oct 1940, after the Italians demanded surrender and Ioannis Metaxas answered “NO”. This small word was the united Greek Nation’s answer from the same moment. My grandfather was listed immediately From Koroni to Kalamata and then Athens. The first photo is from Athens (date unknown), the Second is from Albania at the 11th of Nov 1940, just 10 days after the declaration of war. He send my grandmother Dimitra the 2nd photo with a short note on the back. “My Dearest Dimitra I send you my photo for remembering me your husband, Nikolaos Douralas” 1940_Nov_7th

1st Photo is from Athens before leaving for the Albanian Frontier

Photo from the Albanian front 1940 Nov 7th

I would like to celebrate this National Day by remembering those who fought against all odds for our freedom. I hope we get inspired by them today.

Military service and captivity

The reasons that forced Cervantes to leave Spain remain uncertain. Possible reasons include that he was a “student” of the same name, a “sword-wielding fugitive from justice”, or fleeing from a royal warrant of arrest, for having wounded a certain Antonio de Sigura in a duel.[17] Like many young Spanish men who wanted to further their careers, Cervantes left for Italy. In Rome, he focused his attention on Renaissance art, architecture, and poetry – knowledge of Italian literature is discernible in his work. He found “a powerful impetus to revive the contemporary world in light of its accomplishments”.[18][19] Thus, Cervantes’ stay in Italy, as revealed in his later works, might be in part a desire for a return to an earlier period of the Renaissance.[20]

By 1570, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a regiment of the Spanish Navy Marines, Infantería de Marina, stationed in Naples, then a possession of the Spanish crown. He was there for about a year before he saw active service. In September 1571, Cervantes sailed on board the Marquesa, part of the galley fleet of the Holy League (a coalition of Pope Pius V, Spain, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller based in Malta, and others, under the command of Philip II of Spain‘s illegitimate half brother, John of Austria) that defeated the Ottoman fleet on October 7 in the Battle of Lepanto, in the Gulf of Patras. Though taken down with fever, Cervantes refused to stay below and asked to be allowed to take part in the battle, saying he would rather die for his God and his king than keep under cover. He fought on board a vessel and received three gunshot wounds – two in the chest and one which rendered his left arm useless. In Journey to Parnassus he was to say that he “had lost the movement of the left hand for the glory of the right” (referring to the success of the first part of Don Quixote). Cervantes looked back on his conduct in the battle with pride: he believed he had taken part in an event that shaped the course of European history.

After the Battle of Lepanto, Cervantes remained in hospital in Messina, Italy, for about six months, before his wounds healed enough to allow his joining the colors again.[21] From 1572 to 1575, based mainly in Naples, he continued his soldier’s life: he participated in expeditions to Corfu and Navarino, and saw the fall of Tunis and La Goulette to the Turks in 1574.[22]:220

On September 6 or 7, 1575, Cervantes set sail on the galleySol from Naples to Barcelona, with letters of commendation to the king from the Duke of Sessa.[23] On the morning of September 26, as the Sol approached the Catalan coast, it was attacked by Ottoman pirates and he was taken to Algiers, which had become one of the main and most cosmopolitan cities of the Ottoman Empire, and was kept here in captivity between the years of 1575 and 1580.[24] After five years as a slave in Algiers, and four unsuccessful escape attempts, he was ransomed by his parents and the Trinitarians and returned to his family in Madrid. Not surprisingly, this traumatic period of Cervantes’ life supplied subject matter for several of his literary works, notably the Captive’s tale in Don Quixote and the two plays set in Algiers – El trato de Argel (Life in Algiers) and Los baños de Argel (The Dungeons of Algiers) – as well as episodes in a number of other writings, although never in straight autobiographical form.[9]

I recently uncovered some really old photographs, one that caught my eye is a photo from a Greek American cousin of my late Grandfather. His name was Tom Lyberis, in his 1938 trip visiting home he had contributed financially to the project and had taken part in the building process as well. Here is a photo of the building of the Church of Saint Vasilios, of Vasilitsi Messinia. Here you can see the whole village taking part in the building process of the Church.

Another year has pasted. 2016 was a tough year on all aspects for many of us. Still we managed to outlive it. I would like to thank all of those who enjoyed my blog and all of those I enjoyed their blog. I would like to wish every one a great 2017, filled with heath and happiness.

I would like to salute 2016 with a collection of some of the photos I really enjoyed this year. Produced by who else?,,,, Me!!

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation (Greek: Καθεδρικός Ναός Ευαγγελισμού της Θεοτόκου) popularly known as the “Mētrópolis”, is the cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Athens and all Greece.

Construction of the Cathedral began on Christmas Day, 1842 with the laying of the cornerstone by King Otto and Queen Amalia.

The Gate of the Church

Workers used marble from 72 demolished churches to build the Cathedral’s immense walls. Three architects and 20 years later, it was complete. On May 21, 1862, the completed Cathedral was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Mother of God ‘(Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου)’ by the King and Queen. The Cathedral is a three-aisled, domed basilica that measures 130 feet (40 m) long, 65 feet (20 m) wide, and 80 feet (24 m) high. Inside are the tombs of two saints killed by the Ottoman Turks during the Ottoman period: Saint Philothei and Patriarch Gregory V.

Saint Philothei built a convent, was martyred in 1559, and her bones are still visible in a silver reliquary. She is honored for ransoming Greek women enslaved in Ottoman Empire’s harems.

Gregory V the Ethnomartyr, Patriarch of Constantinople, was hanged by order of Sultan Mahmud II and his body thrown into the Bosphorus in 1821, in retaliation for the Greek uprising on March 25, leading to the Greek War of Independence. His body was rescued[when?] by Greek sailors and eventually enshrined in Athens.
To the immediate south of the Cathedral is the little Church of St. Eleftherios also called the “Little Mitropoli.”

In the Square in front of the Cathedral stand two statues. The first is that of Saint Constantine XI the Ethnomartyr, the last Byzantine Emperor. The second is a statue of Archbishop Damaskinos who was Archbishop of Athens during World War II and was Regent for King George II and Prime Minister of Greece in 1946.

The Metropolitan Cathedral remains a major landmark in Athens and the site of important ceremonies with national political figures present, as well as weddings and funerals of the rich and famous.